Hong Kong’s Town Planning Board rejects wetland development plan for a third time
Government expresses concern about Nam Sang Wai plan’s high development intensity, human disturbance and encroachment on habitats of high ecological value
The city’s town planning authority again rejected on Friday a proposal to build 28 high rises and 140 houses for some 6,500 people in the ecologically sensitive Nam Sang Wai wetlands in Yuen Long.
The Town Planning Board last year rejected the plan, but the developer applied for a review, making adjustments to the original plan to reduce the impact on the wetland ecosystem.
In the revised proposal, the developer reduced the number of residential towers from 29 to 28 with 19 to 25 floors, changed the design of the towers to reduce artificial light and its impact on bent-winged fireflies, a species unique to Hong Kong, and proposed a greater buffer distance between the development and the main dwelling area for cormorants.
The developer also proposed to build a tidal pond to make up for the loss of wetland function through the proposed construction of a vehicular bridge across Shan Pui River, which surrounds the wetlands.